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Tag Batgirl
A Batgirls #17 Micro-Review – Untrained Hands
***This is where we keep it nice and simple. Comic book reviews in 100 words or less. Straight, concise, and to the point.***
TITLE: Batgirls #17
AUTHORS: Becky Cloonan, Michael W. Conrad
ARTISTS: Robbi Rodriguez, Rico Renzi (Colorist), Becca Carey (Letterer). Cover by Jorge Corona & Sarah Stern.
RELEASED: April 18 2023
By Rob Siebert
Fanboy Wonder
Robbi Rodriguez and Rico Renzi make a really strong team, which makes for a really strong issue.
This issue gets a little preachy about guns at one point. I can’t say that bothered me. But it might irk the more…gun-inclined. I particularly dug the line, “We don’t need more guns in untrained hands.”
There’s a thug in this issue that looks more than a little like one of the mutants from The Dark Knight Returns. Again, Rodriguez and Renzi make him look good.
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A Batman/Superman: World’s Finest #13 Micro-Review – Refresher Course
***This is where we keep it nice and simple. Comic book reviews in 100 words or less. Straight, concise, and to the point.***
TITLE: Batman/Superman: World’s Finest #13
AUTHOR: Mark Waid
ARTISTS: Dan Mora, Tamra Bonvillain (Colorist), Steve Wands (Letterer)
RELEASED: March 21, 2023
By Rob Siebert
Fanboy Wonder
This issue dives into Metamorpho’s origin story. It’s a nice little refresher course for readers who aren’t familiar with him.
Waid, Mora, and Bonvillain also give us some quality work with Jimmy Olsen here. Hat-tip to them for that. A more modern take on Jimmy Olsen can be tough to get right. They do a pretty good job, though.
Also? Batgirl is in this issue. Very nice to see Mora and Bonvillain work on her.
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A Batgirls #16 Micro-Review – Puppet Nightmare Fuel
***This is where we keep it nice and simple. Comic book reviews in 100 words or less. Straight, concise, and to the point.***
TITLE: Batgirls #16
AUTHORS: Becky Cloonan, Michael W. Conrad
ARTISTS: Neil Googe, Geraldo Borges (Finishes), Rico Renzi (Colorist), Becca Carey (Letterer). Cover by Jorge Corona & Sarah Stern.
RELEASED: March 14, 2023
By Rob Siebert
Fanboy Wonder
This issue serves up some nightmare fuel in the form of robot puppets made up to look like the extended Batman family. Most of them are in classic costumes too. So the book gets some added fanboy cred there.
Neil Googe draws a pretty awesome Mad Hatter. Neil Googe draws a lot of things pretty awesome. This is a really strong issue for him.
Has there ever been a Girl-Bat, i.e. a young female version of Man-Bat? Why do I ask? Oh, no reason…
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Batman & The Joker: The Deadly Duo #5 Micro-Review – Stupid Batgirl
***This is where we keep it nice and simple. Comic book reviews in 100 words or less. Straight, concise, and to the point.***
TITLE: Batman & The Joker: The Deadly Duo #5
AUTHOR: Marc Silvestri
ARTISTS: Silvestri, Arif Prianto (Colorist), Troy Peteri (Letterer)
RELEASED: March 7, 2023
By Rob Siebert
Fanboy Wonder
There’s a scene in this issue where Batgirl fights and interrogates an imprisoned Joker, and he chastises her for not having shackles on like he does. So what does she do? She puts shackles on. In the ensuing fight, Joker actually gets the upper hand for a time.
There’s a difference between writing heroes as honorable, moralistic, and principled, and writing heroes as stupid. This fell hard into the stupid column.
There’s a panel during said fight where Batgirl throws a kick at Joker’s face that, from a kinesiology standpoint, just doesn’t work. You’ll know it when you see it.
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A Batgirls #15 Micro-Review – An Essential Stephanie Brown Issue
***This is where we keep it nice and simple. Comic book reviews in 100 words or less. Straight, concise, and to the point.***
TITLE: Batgirls #15
AUTHORS: Becky Cloonan, Michael W. Conrad
ARTISTS: Neil Googe, Rico Renzi (Colorist), Frank Cvetkovic (Letterer). Cover by Jorge Corona & Sarah Stern.
RELEASED: February 14, 2023
By Rob Siebert
Fanboy Wonder
This is one of the better issues you’ll ever read about Stephanie Brown and her father, the Cluemaster. If they ever make a collection of essential Stephanie stories, this one should be included. It’s that strong. My hat’s off to Cloonan and Conrad for delivering the goods, and to Googe and Renzi for delivering on the drama and heart.
The centerpiece of this series is, as it should be, the friendship between our main characters, Stephanie and Cassandra. That’s one of the notes this issue ends on, and it really sticks the landing.
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A Batgirls #14 Micro-Review – No Words…
***This is where we keep it nice and simple. Comic book reviews in 100 words or less. Straight, concise, and to the point.***
TITLE: Batgirls #14
AUTHORS: Becky Cloonan, Michael W. Conrad
ARTISTS: Jonathan Case. Cover by Jorge Corona & Sarah Stern.
RELEASED: January 17, 2023
By Rob Siebert
Fanboy Wonder
This might be the overall strongest issue Batgirls has produced. That largely has to do with Jonathan Case, who’s a one-man artistic force of nature.
It’s also about the way this issue is written. For most of it, there’s no dialogue. Which is fitting, as we spend the whole thing with the typically silent Cassandra Cain. Case masterfully shows her being stealthy, doing her thing, etc.
But the issue eventually dives into the core of Cass’ friendship with Stephanie Brown. It’s beautifully written, and downright touching. A tremendous series of pages for both Cass and Steph.
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A Tim Drake: Robin #4 Micro-Review – The Batgirls Family
***This is where we keep it nice and simple. Comic book reviews in 100 words or less. Straight, concise, and to the point.***
TITLE: Tim Drake: Robin #4
AUTHOR: Meghan Fitzmartin
ARTISTS: Riley Rossmo, Lee Loughridge (Colorist), Tom Napolitano (Letterer). Cover by Ricardo Lopez Ortiz.
RELEASED: December 27, 2022
The Batgirls, Cassandra Cain and Stephanie Brown, make an appearance in this issue. It’s interesting, in that Riley Rossmo’s art almost feels like it’s in the same family as that of Jorge Corona and Neil Googe, the two respective regular artists on the Batgirls series.
This issue also contains a sweet moment between Tim and his boyfriend Bernard. I initially wasn’t sure about the two of them as a couple, given their history as friends in the comics. But they’re growing on me.
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A Batgirls #13 Micro-Review – A One-Man Show
***This is where we keep it nice and simple. Comic book reviews in 100 words or less. Straight, concise, and to the point.***
TITLE: Batgirls #13
AUTHORS: Becky Cloonan, Michael W. Conrad
ARTISTS: Jonathan Case. Cover by Jorge Corona & Sarah Stern.
RELEASED: December 13, 2022
By Rob Siebert
Fanboy Wonder
Artistically, this is probably the most noteworthy issue of Batgirls yet, as Jonathan Case is a one-man show. He’s on the pencils, inks, colors, and letters, and it all looks positively gorgeous.
There’s a fight between Lady Shiva and Stephanie Brown (in Cassandra Cain’s body) in this issue that’s handled very well. The end result is pretty much what you think it’ll be. But I like how we got there. Specifically, Steph’s strategy against Shiva. It’s a nice character moment for her, despite her not being in her own body.
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A Batgirls 2022 Annual Micro-Review – A Different Perspective
***This is where we keep it nice and simple. Comic book reviews in 100 words or less. Straight, concise, and to the point.***
TITLE: Batgirls 2022 Annual
AUTHORS: Becky Cloonan, Michael W. Conrad
ARTISTS: Robbi Rodriguez, Rico Renzi (Colorist), Dave Sharpe (Letterer)
RELEASED: November 29, 2022
By Rob Siebert
Fanboy Wonder
I thought the body-switch storyline we see here might have been a one-off for the annual. But as it turns out, it’s continuing into Batgirls #13. Thankfully, they’re using it for more than just comedy. There’s the potential for some really nice character exploration with the story. They’ve got me looking forward to more.
Robbi Rodriguez’s style is a little more conventional than what Batgirls has shown us from Jorge Corona and Neil Googe. We didn’t need a break from that more quirky style. But it’s nonetheless nice to see things from what feels like a different perspective.
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